Do Your Eyes Hurt?

Eye pain is a common complaint among writers.

blue-male-eyes

However, no matter how you spend your days, the discomfort in your eyes may not be due to eye strain or dry eyes like you think, or like the doctor keeps telling you.

And…there is relief!

A couple of years ago, the pain in my eyes became so unbearable that I couldn’t work on my computer for more than an hour here or there. After years of being told to use drops for dry eyes, whenever I mentioned eye discomfort to my doctor, I was finally referred to an ophthalmologist.

The suggestion to use drops was reasonable. People who work on computers all day don’t tend to blink often enough, and combined with working in a low humidity environment, can certainly suffer dry eyes.

But for me the drops didn’t provide relief for more than three minutes.

The ophthalmologist diagnosed me with blepharitis. I’d never heard of blepharitis and, even if I had, probably wouldn’t have thought it was my problem, because while itchy or burning eyes or the feeling that you have a foreign object in the eye are common symptoms (ones I had as well), eye pain isn’t a common symptom.

Moreover, aside from crusty eyes in the morning, I didn’t perceive any of the common signs such as inflammation, flaky patches on the eyelids, loss of eyelashes, red rims of the eyelids etc. At least not that I could observe, although the ophthalmologist clearly saw telltale signs that I didn’t.

But do these symptoms–sensitivity to light, burning or gritty or itchy eyes, mild tearing, crusty eyes–describe what you’re feeling?

If they do, you may have blepharitis and a simple morning and evening routine may bring you tremendous relief.

Blepharitis can be an acute condition that once it clears up, won’t recur, or it may be a chronic condition, which would require you to continue this routine for continued relief. There are different causes of blepharitis, ranging from blocked oil glands to allergies to a staphylococcal infection, and your doctor may prescribe an antibiotic for your eye as well.

I used prescribed antibiotic drops for one week for two consecutive months and didn’t need them again for more than a year when I had another flare up.

Here’s the routine for treating blepharitis:

1) Put a warm compress on your eyes for two minutes. This is to soften the oils on your eyes that may be blocking glands. A wet compress usually doesn’t stand warm long enough. The kind you heat in the microwave work well.

2) Wash your eyelids, top and bottom, paying special attention to the rims and lashes with a clean washcloth and non-burning baby shampoo. 

Repeat morning and evening.

My doctor warned me that for the first few days the pain could actually worsen, although I didn’t experience that. His assistant told me that her father had been suffering eye pain for years and that this routine, combined with the one week per month antibiotic drops, had been like a miracle cure for him. It certainly gave me significant relief within days.

I’ve shared my experience with a couple of friends when they’ve complained of eye pain, and they too, experienced significant improvements by simply practicing the eye washing routine. So…

I thought I’d share my experience with you. The routine certainly can’t hurt (well, other than drying out your skin a bit around your eyes, which might not help the fight against wrinkles 😐 ), and is definitely worth trying.

Your Turn: Any questions? Comments? Experiences with eye pain?

BTW, on Thursday I am interviewing Jennifer Delamere over at the International Christian Fiction Writers’ Blog and she is giving away a copy of A Lady Most Lovely, which received a starred PW review. And the giveaway is open internationally! 

Photo Credit: Image courtesy of graur codrin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

16 Comments

  • Thanks for posting this, Sandra. I’ve had some eye problems recently. It always flares up when I’m writing a lot. I’m going to have it checked out.

    • You’re welcome, Loree. I hope you experience relief. It’s so frustrating to be raring to write and have your eyes not cooperate!

  • I have seen an ophthalmologist twice and he is watching results from some drops he prescribed. No progress over a month. I’m scheduled to see him tomorrow and will show him your post. Thanks for the tip.

  • Hello Sandra , I am a chronic blepharitis user ! I have created a sited dedicated helping blepharitis patients .Baby shampoo is one of the most common treatments.However the most important factor is eyelid hygiene.Cleaning and protecting your eyelid should be part of everyday routine. Especially people who work in front of a monitor ( like me ) they have high probability to be affected by dry eyes as well. A lot of breaks and eye drops can help control the symptoms !

  • Hi Sandra,
    My wife has read and enjoyed some of your work. She was looking at your website and saw that you have had some issues with blepharitis and brought this to my attention.

    I suffered badly with blepharitis for many years and it drove me to research everything I could find.
    Having accumulated a mountain of helpful information and rid myself of the problem,
    I have compiled this information into a website about blepharitis to help others understand and find answers to the problem. I am not sure if you are still having any issues with your eyes, if so this may be helpful to you and some of your readers.
    If you would like to check out my website to consider linking here it is https://www.blepharitiscure.com.
    Kind regards
    Raoul

    • Thanks for sharing Raoul. Happily I haven’t had any issues with this for a few years–now that I faithfully wash my eyelids with baby shampoo each night.

Great to "see" you here today! I look forward to reading your comment.